[Maggiepie]

You have no idea how wonderful & informative this forum is to me. Thank you. I submitted the EOI on Oct-30 and was selected on Nov.-7, assigned to the London office

I am the primary applicant. I claimed 125 pt. w/o job offer. Points based on qualification ( BS in Engineering in an accredited state university in Silicon Valley, CA, USA ) & work experience ( worked in the Silicon Valley as an engineer for 15 years, including Apple Computer ); BH has a Master degree. I have stopped working since 2003. I have the letters verifying my employments from most of the companies that I worked for (except one that no longer around, my first job more than 20 yrs ago). BTW, we got our FBI clearance yesterday.

Here come the shocker that we just learned this week. NZ London emailed me on Jan. 8 requesting proof of accreditation of my BS degree. I need to response by Jan. 22 their time. I since learned that the 50 points that I claim for my BS degree only require that the University is accredited, which it is by WASC ( Western Association of Schools & Colleges ) in USA. But for the 15 bonus points, I claimed “Professional Engineer” (#21426), the degree ( not the University, but the specific degree itself ) have to be accredited by Washington Accord or ABET ( the USA equalvalent). Problem is in 1979 when I entered this degree, it was a new degree offered by the University, I graduated & the University discontinue the degree due to low enrollment, a business decision, and hence never seek accreditation for my degree. That means I might loss 25 points ( 15 for experience & 10 for qualification in Long Term Absolute Skill Shortage, My understanding is that I can’t claim the experience, even I have proof from employers, unless I have the “qualification” approved. Can anyone verify this ?), and that means we are out, with only 100 points left & not even 10 bonus points. We are thinking to have the university write letter to explain the situation regarding the non accreditation of my degree. Will NZ make consideration & approve us ?
Any help & sharing of experience is very much appreciated. PM me if necessary.
Thanks a bunch.

[Ana&Steve]

It sounds like you need an assessment by the NZQA http://www.nzqa.govt.nz
The Pre-assessment takes 7-10 days and is enough for the EOI, but you will probably need the full assessment for your ITA, and the full takes a few months. If you call NZIS, they should be willing to keep the EOI open a bit longer, to give you time to sort everything out. Hope it all goes well!
Ana

[Maggiepie]

Hi Ana,

Thank you so much for the reply. I have been preparing the necessary documents for NZQA accessment. My Uni.'s dean/chair of Engineering Department has email the letter to my NZ immigration officer today to support/explain the accrediation issue. And I have email the officer my diploma & transcript. Just can't believe having 15 years work experience as an engineer in some of the most respected high tech companies and then New Zealand disregard my qualification & experience due to technicality issue. I am waiting for the officer's response & will keep all of you posted. Thank you again.

[Maggiepie]

We provided NZQA with:
- Letter from the University Department Chair supporting my claim
- Course description from 1979 University Catalog
- Employee's verification letter
- My wonderful husband's letter to NZQA appeal for my case (incidentally, he is/was (retired) an excellent attorney - the good kind )

The delay from NZQA, according to them, is failure of the "third party" to post them the repost in timely manner. NZQA was very helpful and even volunteer to ask INZ to give us extension to send in our ITA.

After we got our NZQA report, we got our Medical exam completed in record time, about a week. Funny thing is, we still missed our ITA deadline by 2 days. Our local/rural US post office retain our package due to icoorect form/envelop was used - both were supplied by THEM. I emailed INZ immediately ( on deadline date) regarding the delate. INZ accepted and lodged our ITA.
:nice1
Good luck to all.

[Maggiepie]

Well, after paying for the medical exam for the whole family and the ITA fee. INZ rejected our ITA based on the incomplete/inaccurate NZQA full assessment report (NZ $ 636).

We forwarded the email from INZ requesting a NZQA full assessment re. my "Engineering" degree. NZQA's report stated that "The Bachelor of Science awarded by ........the NZQA accesses this qualification as comparable to the learning outcomes of a qualification at Level 7,....". We send this NZQA report with our ITA (and fee) thinking that we meet the requirement. No, the word "Engineering" is missing in the NZQA report. We then contacted NZQA & here is their response: "The reason for the unspecified assessment was because your evaluator ... could not find a comparable New Zealand specified qualification that compared to your qualification. The Level 7 unspecified comparison is still at bachelor degree level" NZQA should be very clear about this in their initial report, we than might not submit our ITA package. NZQA is suggesting a "review option that outlines the process for an official review and the option of being able to offer any supporting evidence to support your claim for a revised assessment" another NZ $225. I really wonder what is going on.

Our CO suggested another option is to find a job. Okay, I will try to see if I can secure a job offer from NZ while I am still in US taking care of my family ( have a 12 yr old son).

I found the following comments from "Snailandthewhale" :
"the section 18A conditions, if you come as a skilled migrant, with a job offer, you have to start work within 3 months of arriving in NZ and you have to stay in that employment ( or a similar job ) for 3 months after which time you can apply to have the conditions lifted and you are free to do as you please." The key words are "can apply to have the conditions lifted", will INZ grant it ?
and the INZ official info:
http://can apply to have the conditions lifted
"Residence visa or permit

.. A Residence Permit allows you to live and work in New Zealand indefinitely.

A work permit allows you to work in New Zealand temporarily."

Does any one know ( from actual experience or friends who have the experience) if I have a job offer from NZ, will INZ issue me a Residence Permit/Visa or a work permit/visa ? How soon do I need to start work ( I have property that need to be sold in US, which I has already listed it about 9 months ago, the real estate market is really slow)? How long do I need to stay with this company ( What if I want to living in a different part of NZ for my son's schooling & my OH's job if he can find one) ? How long do I need to stay working (what if I don't like the company and wanted out ) with this company or any company?

Once a Residence Permit is issued, can INZ require me to work for any period of time longer than 3 months ? Will INZ not grant us our Citizenship if I stop working during the 5 years waiting period ?

Very depressed right now. That for all the help again.

[Maggiepie]

The saga continue..

It has been a year since we had been selected from the pool.

My BS degree had been assessed by NZQA as level 7 but is unspecified due to the "mixed papers" - have both engineering & business courses. INZ disqualified my 25 bonus point because it is "unsepecified". After months of dealing with NZQA ( I gave up for a few months), from the list provided by NZQA, I found a level 7, but 3 years BEngTech degree which according to INZ ( I email my CO to ask this question specifically) will qualify me for the 25 bonus points that I needed. NZQA told me that they only compare my 4+ years US BS Engineering degree to NZ's 4 year degrees (level 7 & 8) but not a 3 years degree even though this 3 years degress is a level 7. NZQA encouraged me to request for the review ( another NZ $ 225 ). The papers are similar but can never be the same, afterall, I got my engineering almost 25 years ago. Technology changed.

Anyone has experience with NQZA's review ? Has NZQA's full assessment result ever changed ? I hope this is not just a money making scheme from NZQA/INZ.

[Nienke]

Can't help with your questions, but just wanted to say I'm so sorry for all the troubles you have. Hope it will work out for you.

[Maggiepie]

Thank you very much Nienke. Will keep you all posted on the progress.